The present invention generally relates to remote controls for controlling home entertainment devices and, more particularly, to a remote control having a touch pad mapped to the screen of a home entertainment (HE) device to create a virtual touch screen for enabling an operator to control the HE device.
Other than being remote, typical home entertainment (HE) device remote controls are generally despised by human operators for a variety of reasons. Typical HE remote controls are based on a button-centric paradigm and usually contain too many buttons. This crowded geography causes considerable confusion and intimidation and makes it difficult to find the desired button. It is often dark in the room in which HE remote controls are used. This makes it difficult or impossible to read the legends on the crowded button layout.
Normal HE viewing takes place at a distance of two meters or more and the display being viewed is usually quite large such as a television (TV). The legends on HE remote controls are usually twelve point type or smaller. For many operators, changing viewing distance requires changing glasses or putting on reading glasses.
Some remote controls have a trackball or button pointing device to control a cursor on a TV screen. This approach has drawbacks in that the low resolution of normal TVs requires a cursor that is large. The cursor also moves in a jerky style because of the low refresh rate of the TV screen. Other remote controls have tried to solve the problems associated with typical remote controls by using a display in the remote control. The display is changed as required. However, the local display brings with it a new set of problems. An operator has to read the display then press the appropriate area to select an item or another menu. The display also is costly and requires programming for each system or bi-directional communications.
Enhanced or interactive TV and related applications require the extensive use of graphic user interfaces (GUIs) and on-screen displays/menus. An enhanced TV is a TV configured for cable video programming, Internet browsing, Internet telephony, electronic mail, video cassette recording, audio programming, and the like. The operator has to navigate through various menus to use the enhanced TV. Using up, down, right, and left arrow keys to navigate these menus is difficult, slow, and frustrating. The increasing number of television channels has given rise to the electronic programming guide (EPG). Because an EPG is a dense grid of selections, using arrow keys to navigate is even more difficult.
Interactive TV also requires text and graphics entry. The current solution for text entry, a wireless keyboard, is undesirable in a living room because many people cannot type, the keyboard does not fit the decor of the living room, there is no place to set the keyboard down to type on it, and people simply refuse to have computer related material in living rooms. In addition, typing is associated with work and is not desired to be in a room devoted to relaxation.
What is needed is a remote control having a touch pad mapped to an HE device display screen to create a virtual touch screen for enabling an operator to control the HE device. In effect, the touch pad would provide an operator with the ability to virtually touch the HE device display screen to control the HE device without having to actually physically touch the HE device. Touching the HE device display screen to control the HE device is the most intuitive interface. Further, the advantages of using a touch pad to control the HE device include allowing the operator to not need to look at the remote control during operation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control having a touch pad mapped to a home entertainment (HE) device display screen to create a virtual touch screen for enabling an operator to control the HE device without looking at the remote control.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote control having a touch pad mapped to a control panel displayed on the HE device display screen such that each location of the touch pad corresponds to a respective portion of the control panel.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a remote control having a touch pad mapped to an on-screen keyboard displayed on the HE device display screen such that each location of the touch pad corresponds to a respective entry of the on-screen keyboard.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a remote control having a touch pad mapped to an electronic program guide (EPG) displayed on the HE device display screen such that each location of the touch pad corresponds to a grid area of the EPG.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a remote control having a touch pad mapped to an Internet page displayed on the HE device display screen such that each location of the touch pad corresponds to a link of the Internet page.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a remote control having a touch pad and control buttons used in conjunction to enable control functions for controlling an HE device.
It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide a remote control having a touch pad mapped to a graphical entry screen such that each location of the touch pad corresponds to a respective location of the graphical entry screen.
In carrying out the above objects and other objects, an embodiment of the present invention provides a remote control and an associated method for controlling a home entertainment (HE) device having a display screen. The remote control includes a touch pad mapped to the display screen of the HE device as a function of the ratio of the areas of the touch pad and the display screen such that each location of the touch pad corresponds to a respective location of the display screen. The remote controller further includes a controller operable with the touch pad to enable a control function associated with a location of the display screen in response to the corresponding location of the touch pad being touched for controlling the HE device. The display screen may include on-screen keyboards, control panels and menus, an Internet page, an electronic program guide, and the like.
Further, in carrying out the above objects and other objects, the present invention provides a remote control for controlling a television. The remote control includes a touch pad and a plurality of control buttons. The touch pad and the control buttons are used in conjunction to enable control functions for controlling the television.
These and other features, aspects, and embodiments of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.